Written by

Howard Wilkinson and Carrie Whitaker

Police action to protests in other cities

 New York City: Police arrest roughly 700 protesters marching across the Brooklyn Bridge Oct. 2, including roughly 500 who were warned not to sit or march in the way of traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge and then corralled by officers when they did.

 Seattle, Wash: Police enforce a city ordinance banning camping in city parks and arrest 25 protesters who refused to remove their encampment Oct. 5. The next night about 30 people slept in boxes and other makeshift shelters, side-stepping the city’s order to remove tents.

 Des Moines, Iowa: Police arrest a few dozen protesters who refused to leave the Iowa Statehouse lawn Sunday night past the city’s 11 p.m. curfew because they lacked a permit to camp.

More

ADVERTISEMENT

DOWNTOWN - As Piatt Park closed at 10 p.m. Monday, about two dozen Occupy Cincinnati protesters lined up in an orderly fashion and began accepting citations from police.

Another two dozen protesters stood just outside the park, showing their support and watching officers write citations.

Lawyers advising the protesters had said earlier that they didn't expect arrests or eviction from the park, where about 15 tents had been erected Monday night.

Bradley Dillinger, 24, of Over-the-Rhine, who was among the protesters outside the park, said there didn't appear to be any hostility between the protesters and the police.

Dillinger said that while he believed in what the protesters were doing, he also understood that the officers were simply doing their jobs.

“It will be the same as last night,” lawyer Geoffrey Miller, who is not formally representing the protesters, said Monday afternoon during a meeting between Police Chief James Craig and most of his command staff.

The protesters have requested a 24-hour permit until the end of the year from the Cincinnati Parks Board, said Parks Director Willie Carden. It will not be granted, he said, because the park board does not issue such a permit.

The protesters are welcome to gather there when the park is open, Carden said, as long as they follow park rules. But when the park closes at 10 p.m. anyone on the property can expect a citation, he said.

Craig had said Monday afternoon that his officers would enforce the rule and he told the protesters so Monday, the second meeting he’s had with organizers since the Occupy Cincinnati protests began Saturday.

“An ongoing dialogue will continue – there will never be a surprise for them from the police department – you have my assurance on that,” Craig said.

Several police officials stopped by the park throughout the day to talk with protesters but there was no clear indication Monday when the tent city in the east end of Piatt Park, near the corner of Race Street and Garfield Place, would end.

Also at the park most of the day was Josh Spring, executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Coalition for the Homeless, who said he was there for organizational support and because the coalition fights for civil liberties when it can.

The citations issued to 22 members of the loosely organized Occupy Cincinnati Sunday “will be fought,” Spring vowed.

“I think part of this is challenging the rule – the right to assemble, the right to speak – should supersede someone else’s viewpoint that someone should not be allowed in a public space,” Spring said.

Aaron Roco, a 33-year-old from Clifton who was one of those cited Sunday night for being in the park after hours, said the group only wants “a 24-hour space – somewhere downtown, in Over-the-Rhine, very close to the business district.”

The occupation of Piatt Park is inspired by the recent Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City, where hundreds occupied a city park to protest for what they call the “99 percent” and against the small group of wealthy Americans who control the majority of the nation’s wealth.

“When people who are suffering hear about this movement, they realize they are not the only ones suffering and they band together to do something about it,” said Roco, who said he has been laid off from jobs three times in 18 months.

The protests started Saturday with several hundred people marching from Lytle Park to Fountain Square for a day-long protest. Sunday night, 74 Occupy Cincinnati supporters showed up at Piatt Park, setting up tents for the night.

Police waited until 11 p.m. – an hour after the official closing time of the city park – to issue citations. Most left, but 22 chose to stay and lined up to receive their citations.

The citation comes with a $105 fine. Miller said protesters could plead not guilty and fight the citations, pay the fines, or ask the judge to remand the fine because they are unable to pay.

“There aren’t many people here with that kind of money to pay,” Miller said.

The city’s law department is advising the Cincinnati Police Department on how to deal with the protesters, said Cincinnati Solicitor John Curp. He declined to share what that advice has been or will be if the protests continue.

Johnail Jewell, a 22-year-old from Mount Airy, was among those cited and said Monday morning she had no plans to leave.

“This is not a joke,” Jewell said. “This is a demand for change, for everyone in this country to be treated equally. What we want is for people to know, to listen and see and hear what is going on here. We want to raise awareness. Is there any fairness in a system where one percent of the people control the wealth?”